Invest in current or buy new?

Clarkie.Dj

Hi. I currently have the Norco 2 2018 (https://www.evanscycles.com/norco-charg ... e-EV306502).

I had my back wheel stolen, with all the cassette, derailleur and all that stuff. Insurance has paid out £780 for everything. Should I invest back in the norco or buy one of the below?

Trek Roscoe 7: https://www.evanscycles.com/trek-roscoe ... e-EV340606

Rockhopper Expert: https://www.cyclesurgery.com/p/speciali ... y0EALw_wcB

Or any other suggestions would be really appreciated.
Thanks

steve_sordy

It looks like they have paid out the value of the bike, so you are a winner!

You could strip down your old bike and sell the frame, fork, crankset, pedals, front wheel, brakes & (the bits you have) and put that to your £780 and buy an even better bike. There are some good deals out there on 2019 bikes right now as the retailers try to make room for the 2020 bikes coming in. Patience is all you need.

Or take just some of the £780 and replace the stolen bits, you might even find them on eBay!. Keep the rest of the money and either spend it on upgrades or put it away for your next new bike.

The key question you need to ask yourself is this:

Do you actually want a new bike, or do you quite like your old bike and would like to spend time and effort on bringing it back to life and learn about bike maintenance in the process? Either answer is equally valid.

Clarkie.Dj

Yeh, I do feel like a winner. Silver lining to the cloud I suppose. Was livid when it got stolen. It had wheel, brake, derailleur and rotor upgrades on it too, and in the process of stealing the wheel they damaged the breaks and forks to a certain extent so would need a major overhaul to get back to working order.

The Frame on the Norco is still OK, but would have to replace majority of parts so thinking about what I'd need to upgrade to make it feel/perform like a new bike, rather than replace like for like and go back to what I had before.

Could put £780 and do maybe a couple of hundred on Finance.

What bike options would you suggest for city riding with occasional trails at the weekends. Nothing majorly adventurous. Maybe going up to the £1000 mark.

billycool

Based on what you've said, the bike is effectively written off (hence the full pay out).

The frame`might` be damaged/bent - so for peace of mind you might want a new bike. Like you say, sell what's left and start again. Or, you can buy new bits and try a rebuild.

£1000 for a HT gives you plenty of options and arguably, you don't need to spend that much if you don't want to.

Some people might say look at CX/Gravel bikes if you commute and do the odd off-road.

Personally - I'd go for a HT with 2x gearing as 1x isn't usually enough for commuting. Probably 100m'ish forks.

There are loads of options and as Steve says, this is a good time to pick up a deal on a 2019 bike. You might get 25% off, so a £1000 bike costs £750. I can't give any specific recommendations and without sounding rude (due to what you'll use it for), I think you'll be happy with most bikes around that price point.

Clarkie.Dj

Thanks for the advice guys. I've decided to test ride the Roscoe 7 next week. For £740 seems like an OK price. But coil forks as opposed to air... :?

Roscoe 7: https://www.evanscycles.com/trek-roscoe ... e-EV340606

Thinking about the Roscoe 8 now, as it has air forks and Sram NX Eagle Group-set, but prefer the frame of the 7. Assuming I can upgrade the groupset at a later date between the models.

Roscoe 8: https://www.evanscycles.com/trek-roscoe ... e-EV340607

Is the 8 worth the extra £200?

Can anyone see anything glaring that would stop them buying the 7 and going for the 8 straight away? How do the brakes compare to each other?

Again, really appreciate any advice as I'm relatively new to MTB, but want a bike that I can progress on.

JBA

The frame is common to both models you have linked to so I don’t understand why you say you prefer the frame on the 7, unless you just mean the colour.

However, before making a decision between the two Roscoe models check the specs as there are errors in the Evans listings.
For example, Rockshox Judy forks are solo air. They don’t make a coil version.

The Rookie

Unless you're limited to Evans, go look at a Bizango at Halfords, cheaper and air forks.
Break the Norco, keep anything relevant for spares and ebay the rest!

Clarkie.Dj

JBA wrote:

The frame is common to both models you have linked to so I don’t understand why you say you prefer the frame on the 7, unless you just mean the colour.

However, before making a decision between the two Roscoe models check the specs as there are errors in the Evans listings.
For example, Rockshox Judy forks are solo air. They don’t make a coil version.

Yeh, it was the colour scheme on the 7 that's drawing me in, but the specs on the 8 are better. So I'm thinking I could gradually turn the 7 into 8 (if not better) over time.

Will definitely check out the specs on the trek site to confirm what it on each model, thanks for the heads up.

Clarkie.Dj

JBA wrote:

The frame is common to both models you have linked to so I don’t understand why you say you prefer the frame on the 7, unless you just mean the colour.

However, before making a decision between the two Roscoe models check the specs as there are errors in the Evans listings.
For example, Rockshox Judy forks are solo air. They don’t make a coil version.

Yeh, it was the colour scheme on the 7 that's drawing me in, but the specs on the 8 are better. So I'm thinking I could gradually turn the 7 into 8 (if not better) over time.

Will definitely check out the specs on the trek site to confirm what it on each model, thanks for the heads up.

Clarkie.Dj

The Rookie wrote:

Unless you're limited to Evans, go look at a Bizango at Halfords, cheaper and air forks.
Break the Norco, keep anything relevant for spares and ebay the rest!

I'm not limited to Evans, but tried the Bizango when I got my Norco and something didn't quite feel right about it. Can't put my finger on it, technically it's the best bike around at that price point, but just didn't really like look or feel of it for some reason.

Was also looking at the Saracen Zenith Pro (below). Came 2nd in the HT or the Year. But Tredz being in Wales and Chain Reaction being online, it's tricky to arrange a test ride

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Saracen-Zenith ... 204241.htm